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Holocaust survivor returns - Margot Friedländer in Berlin

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April 9, 2024

German Jewish Margot Friedländer nee Bendheim survived the horrors of Nazi Germany. In 1946 she moved to the U.S. with her husband and lived there for many decades. She decided to return to Berlin in 2010 in order to tell her story in Germany.

Margot Friedländer is a remarkable woman. The Holocaust survivor is an honorary citizen of Berlin, a recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and celebrated her 100th birthday in November 2021. Friedländer has written memoirs, given speeches and visited many German schools to talk with children and young people. She says she hopes by sharing her experiences and telling her personal story, she can help to ensure that something like the Holocaust never happens again. Born Margot Bendheim in 1921 to Jewish parents, she experienced the atrocities of the Nazi regime in Germany and the persecution of the Jewish people. After her mother and brother were deported to Auschwitz, Margot Bentheim spent years in hiding until she was deported to Theresienstadt in 1944. There, she met Adolf Friedländer, whom she already knew from Berlin. They survived the concentration camp, married and emigrated to New York in 1946. Following the death of her husband in 1997, Margot Friedländer made several visits to Berlin and decided to return to Germany for good in 2010. Filmmaker Thomas Halaczinsky spent years recording Margot Friedländer's life and memories.

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